Special Correspondent
MANGALORE: There need not be apprehension about the environmental protection while building Special Economic Zones. The rules framed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board will govern the environmental protection norms inside the SEZ, said A.G. Pai, Chief Operating Officer of the Mangalore Special Economic Zone (MSEZ), here on Saturday.
Presenting a paper on the theme “SEZ – as a growth engine” organised by the Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Engineers Association along with Lions club of Mangalore, Mr. Pai said if the country had to earn foreign exchange in large volume, the manufacturing sector had to show results. Only 22 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product of the country came through manufacturing sector while 52 per cent came from service sector and the rest from primary sector. The MSEZ had a large number of downstream industries which would attract investment and generate employment, he said. Explaining how the land was important for starting the SEZ, Mr. Pai said Dakshina Kannada had a land mass of around 5,000 Sq. Km. of which 100 Sq. Km. had been requisitioned for developing the SEZ and the Petroleum Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR). This area would act as an engine of progress and development for the district as large investments would flow into industrial and social sectors. The MSEZ would put the district on a path of sustainable growth and balanced economic progress, he said.
The chief executive officer of the proposed B.A. Tech Park coming up at Thumbay in Buntwal taluk, Abdul Salam, said the concept of SEZ should be looked at in an unconventional way of development.
These were generators of foreign exchange, employment and wealth for the country.
Mr. Salam said the B.A. Tech Park was the smallest in the country and would be built on a plot of 4 million Sq.ft. It would become operational in five years.
